Bunge signs 10-year deal with Phu My Port in Vietnam

Bunge signs 10-year deal with Phu My Port in Vietnam    Bunge Agribusiness Singapore Pte. Ltd. has signed a 10-year exclusive throughput agreement with Phu My Port in Vietnam.
   The agreement with Baria Serece Joint Venture Co., the port’s operator, commits Bunge to use the port to supply its customers in Vietnam and provides the grain giant with exclusive access to the facility for shipments of agricultural commodities. The two parties also agreed to partner on future logistics improvements at the port.
   Vietnam is considered one the fastest emerging markets for soybean meal and corn imports in the Asia-Pacific region.
   “In the last five years, commercial feed production in Vietnam has grown at over 10 percent per year, and annual per capita growth in meat consumption has exceeded 7 percent,” said Christopher White, regional general manager in Asia for Bunge. “We believe that this growth will continue or even accelerate due to continued increases in population and per capita income.”
   According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, Vietnam imported 990,000 metric tons of soybean meal in 2003. The agency also estimates that the livestock sector contributes about 20 percent to the total value of Vietnam’s agricultural production.
   Phu My Port is located on the Thi Vai River, about 70 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. It is considered Vietnam’s leading port for dry bulk goods and is one of the only ports in the country capable of receiving Panamax-class vessels.